A flight returning to Manchester after the UEFA Euro final made an emergency landing back at the Berlin airport less than 30 minutes after departure.
Eurowings flight EW8470, operated on an Airbus A319, took off from Berlin at 8:09 am yesterday morning, taking 150 football fans back home after England’s loss to Spain in the championship final on Sunday evening. The plane seemed to depart without issues, but shortly after getting airborne, the pilots announced they were turning around due to “a warning light flashing on the controls”, a passenger told the Independent.
The plane landed back at Berlin at 8:26 am. By then, passengers reported feeling a “smell of burning”. The people onboard were told the engines were on fire and, unlike most emergency situations, were allowed to take their luggage and disembarked normally. Fire services met the aircraft at the airport, with no fire detected after all.
“Passengers and crew left the aircraft via passenger stairs provided and were taken to the terminal by bus. The aircraft was then inspected by the fire brigade. There were no findings. There was neither a fire nor smoke in the cabin”, the airline said in a statement.
Having the flight directed back to Berlin was bad enough for the already disappointed fans, but it was the way the airline handled the aftermath they were most unhappy about. “The landing was all handled very well, we were pleased just to be on the ground and safe, and credit to the pilot for that”, John Hattam told MailOnline. “However it was the aftermath that was chaotic, that’s what people are unhappy about. It’s frustrating, we were all disappointed by the result last night and then this happens. We’re glad we are all safe – worse things happen – it’s just how it’s been dealt with.”
Even before disembarking, passengers were told not to take pictures or videos because they didn’t want “bad press on social media”. After getting off the aircraft, they were taken to the terminal on busses where no assistance was allegedly provided. People were left wondering if or when another flight would be scheduled and with no Eurowings representative in sight.
About 4 hours later, passengers were still unsure of what to do as no flights from Berlin to Manchester were available. At the time of writing it is unclear when all the fans finally got back home, however, tracking website Flightradar24 shows an Eurowings flight from Berlin landed in Manchester at 4:23 yesterday afternoon.
While people were trying to figure out the debacle, an English journalist tried to lighten up the mood by commenting on X that “even the fans aren’t coming home then…”
